More people to be allowed into key relief road meeting after council accused of being 'undemocratic'
Shropshire Council has denied campaigners' claims that the number of spectators allowed to attend a crunch meeting about the controversial North West Relief Road was limited to 20.
The hugely controversial Shrewsbury North West Relief Road scheme has been recommended for approval by Shropshire Council planners in advance of a committee meeting next week.
Shropshire Council usually uses the Shrewsbury/Oswestry Room at Shirehall for meetings of the Northern Planning Committee but had earlier decided to move it into the larger council chamber.
Campaigners had slammed the venue and accused the council of being "anti-democratic" for only taking a crowd of 20.
The council says that capacity is still limited as "fire safety regulations must be adhered to and the safety of attendees is paramount".
A spokesperson for the council said: "To allow sufficient space for committee members, officers and speakers, 64 places have been reserved for members of the public to spectate the meeting and these have been allocated on request, on a first-come-first-served basis.
"The public places have now been allocated and we are therefore now operating a waiting list."
The council adds that the meeting is being live-streamed on the council’s YouTube channel, meaning that anyone who wishes to view the meeting will be able to do so.
Mike Streetly, of Better Shrewsbury Transport (BeST), accused the council of "preventing public access".
He said: "The NWRR is a hugely controversial project with real risks to the wellbeing of each and every Shrewsbury resident, not least of all over the safety of our drinking water supply.
